Voices

Gerard O’Connell is America’s Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
Dispatches
The publication of the letter from thirteen cardinals to Pope Francis on October 11 by the Italian expert on Vatican affairs Sandro Magister continued to be at the center of discussion in Rome today with various declarations from cardinals and much speculation as to the motive why it was leaked a
Synod on the Family
In their letter, the cardinals wrote that some consider “the synodal procedures” as “lacking openness and genuine collegiality.”
Dispatches
In a telegram to Turkey's president, he expressed his closeness to all those suffering from the terrible attack and assured them of his prayers.
Synod on the Family
Working group reports show synod participants adapting to more focus on discussion, looking to the work ahead.
Dispatches
Several groups said the presentation of the family in the first part of the synod's working document is too negative, too bleak, because it “mainly highlights problems.”
Dispatches
This morning Pope Francis urgently appealed to the International Community “to broaden its horizons beyond the immediate interests and use the instruments of international law and diplomacy to resolve the ongoing conflicts.”
Dispatches
The 318 participants attending the synod of bishops on the family have raised or discussed a wide range of topics during the first four days of this gathering nbsp High among them are the terrible destructive impact that war armed conflict poverty unemployment persecution violence against wo
Synod on the Family
The synod of bishops on the family is now gathering steam.
Signs Of the Times
‘A church with closed doors betrays herself and her mission, and, instead of being a bridge, becomes a roadblock,” Pope Francis said in his homily during a concelebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 4, as he opened the meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the family.Francis i
Synod on the Family
Pope Francis asked the Synod Fathers to engage in “a profound discernment to seek to understand what the Lord wants of his Church.”